Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Montana Actually (Medicine River #1) by Fiona Lowe (@BerkleyRomance)

City doctor Josh Stanton and his sports car don’t suit the country, but with his medical school debt about to bury him, Josh has to make the best out of a bad situation. Adjusting to his new job and life in the middle of nowhere isn’t easy, but at least the views of the mountains—and one distractingly attractive local—are stunning…

After eight years away, Katrina McCade is back in Bear Paw for a break from her life, bad choices—and men. But when a broad-shouldered stranger bursts into town, she finds herself unexpectedly saddled with the town’s sexy new doctor as a tenant. Katrina doesn’t need a man to make her happy, especially a disgruntled physician. But try telling her body that…

OOooo a little Montana loving! I love small town romances and Montana Actually...pretty dang fun as strangers Katrina and Josh land in Bear Paw--basically to escape bad relationships-- and end up having to deal with each other seeing as he's renting the house she'd planned on living in. Gah but I love that kind of storyline and these two were quite the pair as they dealt with each other, living in a small town and all the crazy that can come from that and some knock you off your feet chemistry.

The romance was slow building which I liked. There's a pretty quick attraction and over time the two keep running into each other--something that's not too hard since she's his landlord and, well, Bear Paw is a pretty tiny place. I liked them together. They're both a bit broken and gun shy but slowly healing even if they don't realize. They had nice chemistry and suited even though they kind of drove each other a little crazy.

This was an interesting one couple-wise for me. When things kick off I wasn't so sure about Josh. He's a talented doctor but he's not all that manly of a man. Doesn't know how to fix things around the house, sends a woman in to deal with rodents, that kind of thing. He was just a little too...city boy for me? But Katrina I was digging from the start. She knows her way around a house and can take on any project which was great. And then as the book went along I kind of flipped on them. Josh really won me over as he struggled to fit into a small town that was wary of outsiders. But then Katrina in the last couple chapters lost me a bit. She had a crazy girl moment where she really swung out of left field where their relationship was concerned and he was made to look like he was wrong and it bothered me. I was oh so close to wanting him to just move on and let her go. It was a very near call for me. I did like them though and enjoyed their romance quite a bit other than that last few chapters that were iffy for me.

There was a wonderful secondary romance though that absolutely stole the show for me. I would have loved to see Katrina's brother have a full book. I looked forward to the thread of his romance with the town's new diner owner and got so wrapped up in their scenes I'd have to get back into the original romance which doesn't happen too often. It was just one of those heartbreakingly sweet storylines and gah I could not get enough of the two of them.

There was also family heart ache I didn't see coming exactly. I knew something was happening with her family but I bawled when it hit and just wasn't prepared for that at all. It was all nicely done but was something that just left me raw and hurting for everyone involved and really just brought a realness to the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the first book from Medicine River. It's an interesting little town with some great characters I can't wait to learn more about. It wasn't a perfect read but it was sure entertaining and had me ready for more.

Have you read Lowe? What did you think?

Do you need a manly man or are you good with one that's a little more...gently bred?

FTC Disclaimer: The books I review come from a number of places...ones I have purchased, some provided by authors or publishers in exchange for honest reviews (yeah some of those get DNF'd and 1 stars too) and some I've received from friends. I'll always give yall exactly what I think regardless of how the books ended up on my shelf.

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